LAWRENCE LA PIANTA

PROFILE

Born in Scarborough, Ontario, Lawrence LaPianta has been cooking barbecue for over two decades, but exposure to world-class mentors like Pitmaster Mike Mills was all it took for Lawrence La Pianta to completely perfect the craft of traditional, wood-smoked BBQ. Since 2009, Lawrence has competed at the most prestigious BBQ contests in the world.

Lawrence helped open and create the BBQ menu at Riverside’s AFT Bar – a neighbourhood comfort food spot which quickly became known for his weekend Texas smokehouse menu.

With 20 years of production location scouting experience, Lawrence took over the former 1910 Dominion Bank in the Portlands – turning it into his dream counter-service barbecue joint. Taking a regional approach, he describes it as “Toronto style barbecue” – with baby back ribs inspired by St. Louis, brisket inspired by Texas, and pulled pork inspired by North Carolina.

Today, Pitmaster Lawrence La Pianta competes and judges on some of the largest barbecue competitions alongside some of the world’s best – including the Kansas City Barbeque Society. Excited to share his tender, slow-smoked meats with the downtown core, Lawrence recommends a light amount of sauce because the simple seasoning and smoky flavours are what truly let his tender meat shine.